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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 30th Aug 2019 at 1:06 AM
Default A big question for those who have modified Sunset Valley…
So, I’m thinking of starting Sunset Valley over again. There are things I’d like to do differently now that I’ve had more experience with the game and now that I have all the EPs I’m interested in (i.e., everything but ITF) and probably all the SPs that I’m interested in, too.

First, a lot of those buildings must go. Not just several of the houses; I’d like to redo the whole downtown area. I like the placement of the park, city hall, and school, and I like the look of some of the RHs too much to get rid of them – for example, the ones in Mirabello Plaza are very cute, IMO.

But the gym, and the art gallery? I can’t stand them! And I certainly don’t need two pools! I’d also like to bulldoze that whole bunch of lots on Sunnyside Boulevard with the blue roofs: the three residential lots and the pool behind it. (It’s not definite, but I was thinking that would be a more modern and trendy part of the town.) I could also live without some of the RHs if it’d save space to stick the corresponding RH rug on a lot that’s open 24/7.

Now, here’s my problem. If you’re familiar with Sunset Valley, I’m going to guess that you’re familiar with several of the community lots being… “wacky” sizes: the gym is on a 32x40 lot, the art gallery is 31x50, and the pool next to the art gallery is 30x28. I’m very bad at building, but I’ve been able to find some lots I really love that I’d like to replace them (this gorgeous gym, for example, has not only exercise machines, but also a pool, a basketball court, and the store’s dance stuff!!).

How do I know that I’ll have room for lots that use “standard” lot sizes? (Now might be a good time to mention that I do have velocitygrass’s Add Any Lot Size mod at least.) I haven’t played Sims (any version) for several months now, so I can’t remember for sure, but IIRC sometimes after deleting a lot in World Editor, the game would occasionally mess up the terrain in a way where you wouldn’t be able to put room for lots that you really should be able to!

Does anyone have any advice? If you modified SV in Edit World mode, what did you do? CAW just isn’t an option (long story), but I do have ellacharmed’s version of SV with routing fixes, if it makes any difference in this particular case. (And yes, I installed her replacement before starting my new save. )

I tried using the search function in the forums, but most of the results for “Sunset Valley” were technical help-related, even though I know I’ve seen it discussed in “regular” threads. I also searched for “lot size”, but I didn’t see what I was looking for.
If a reference picture of the downtown area would be helpful, Carl’s Sims 3 Guide has one here.

So, yeah, advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hey- if you said something to me in a post and I didn't write back, I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't feel good enough to post and by the time I'm able to the thread's old enough that I feel kind of weird about bumping it just to post one or two sentences. So please don't take it personally! :)
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Instructor
#3 Old 30th Aug 2019 at 3:13 AM
I personally would recommend trying to keep with the existing lots. I am currently playing Sunset Valley and placing lots is a PAIN.

If you do find yourself needing to delete and place different sizes down, the trick is to delete and then reload the game. The area the lot was once on needs to be refreshed most of the time before you can place a new one down.

I might one day finish my Zanes Hollow project, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Until then, you can see what I'm up to on my Simblr!
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 30th Aug 2019 at 3:24 AM
It is best not to place or delete empty lots in Edit town because this breaks the routing grid, leading to routing problems. Delete the building if you want, but leave the empty lot there, which can of course have another prebuilt lot, of the same size or smaller, placed on it. You can also switch between residential and commercial zoning. If the lot you want to replace is larger than the original lot, you will need to find a larger empty lot for it. Good luck and post pictures.

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Mad Poster
#6 Old 30th Aug 2019 at 8:05 AM
FYI: When you bring in lots built in other worlds sometimes you have to use the elevation cheat to raise or lower them to match the particular location. Sometimes it works but in some cases the lots just will not work. Been there, done that.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 30th Aug 2019 at 12:10 PM
The only major modification I did to my Sunset Valley was delete the school.

Not much else.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
Instructor
#9 Old 4th Sep 2019 at 6:15 AM
I have this version of SV https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetai...assetId=8434125, remade by LynxAQ. My daughter and I have been remaking the lots, and I will be taking it into CAW and placing them so we always have it ready to go. Well once we get the computer up and running again we will finish it. I would have to agree that changing lot sizes in edit town messes with routing, sometimes badly, since I don’t think it is set up to recalculate routing like CAW.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#10 Old 1st Nov 2019 at 9:18 PM
First of all, I’m sorry for necro-ing this thread, but I feel like you guys deserve a reply for helping me. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post sooner… I’ve been having a rough few months.

@KatyFernlily and @nitromon: Thank you so much!!!!!! I guess I never thought to search for Sunset Valley remakes because… well, I guess I just assumed everyone would prefer to make their own towns, since I’ve seen such gorgeous original worlds! I’ve fallen madly in love with Cottonwood Hills! It’s beautiful and quaint and I like how Martine made a variety of buildings and areas… you’ve got the industrial club district, you’ve got the quaint-but-not-cutesy shops, you’ve got that gorgeous museum/art gallery… like I said, I’m in love with it!

One of the things I know I’m going to be doing is changing some of the lot assignments. For example, the White Lion Pub is too beautiful to repel perfectionist sims (it’s currently a local watering hole)! I’ve got it set as “arcade” right now, but I haven’t really played this world yet other than setting things up.

@attuned and @Mandelyn: Yeah, but like I said, I’m stuck with Edit Town mode, since I can’t use CAW. It’s ridiculous how EA messes up things that need to be available!

There are only some sims I’m interested in from SV, so I’m not going to use Traveler or Porter for these sims (more on that later). I’m going to give them makeovers, take notes on things like relationships (e.g. the two youngest Bunch kids don’t like each other), and make new versions of them in CAS. I’ve already got three or so households made and moved in. I’m giving some of them radical personality makeovers, too. For example, I’ve made Bella, Michael, Simis, and Natalia (formerly Jocasta… a nice excuse to get rid of that name!! ) all witches, and Bella’s parents, Simis in particular, have a more Magic Town vibe to them.

The rest of the SV premades…. If I don’t dislike them, they can be townie fodder. I’ll give ‘em makeovers, save them to the sim bin, and recreate them in CH. Some can be co-workers (“homeless”… what would be a good way to do that for individual sims and not the whole household?), and I’ll assign some to be role sims with MasterController (Sim > Advanced > Set Service).

I’m forbidding the “inappropriate” trait from my game. From what I’ve seen, it’s not if they cheat, it’s when they cheat. Last time, Yumi Sekemoto broke up the Keatons’ marriage. Why a young guy would accept a flirt from a weird elderly woman, I don’t know. I’ve heard the “flirty” trait works in a similar way…. My plan right not is that if I have a flirty sim who wants to settle down, I’ll change it to “hopeless romantic”.

Once I make sure the town seems to be running smoothly, I’ll try out Ani’s apartment mod. I’ve downloaded a couple buildings that would be great for my single sims. I’ve already placed them on the border of Cottonwood Hills’ industrial district, hoping that it’ll make the visual transition from more urban-looking buildings to residential buildings smoother.
I’m also making over Hidden Springs (with ellacharmed’s fixes!) to be a vacation world with Traveler. I’m intending for there to be activities and lodging for the snooty people, stuff to interest supernaturals (witches, fairies, plantsims… I think that’s all I have so far), and stuff for “regular” people. I’m excited to have an opportunity to use Sandy’s Alpine set!!

Once I get that set up, there are three sims (Francesca Vanderburg, Bert Alto, and homeless/townie Marcela Jimenez) that I’d like to move from Hidden Springs to Cottonwood Hills and keep their relationships, etc. Specifically, I’d like for Francesca to be able to keep in touch with her brother and invite him over once in a while. What would be the best way to do that?

I plan on using Retuner to allow more traits for babies and toddlers, 7 for kids, and 10 for teens and older. The measly amount EAxis allowed sims by default doesn’t seem like remotely enough to flesh out most sims' personalities, especially with all the traits added by expansion packs!
I’m a little confused, though:
1) Do hidden traits (e.g. “Fireproof”) count toward the new maximum? If so, is there a way around that? It wouldn’t seem fair that an unmodded game would be perfectly fine with it, IMO.
2) I think I read somewhere (goodness knows where I’d find it again) that, even with Retuner, there still might be issues when sims age up. I think they said the sim might reset, which doesn’t sound too bad, but I’d like to know other people’s experiences, if they’ve tried this.
3) This mod here says that if a sim is awarded a bonus trait via social networking, they should decline it. Even though I don’t have that mod, would it still apply?
4) I’m assuming the bonus trait awarded from getting a degree (or an honorary degree) would work the same way? I’ve already given one to one of my sims – it didn’t feel right for a middle-aged reporter not to have one.

Thank you, everyone, for all your help and suggestions!

Hey- if you said something to me in a post and I didn't write back, I'm sorry. Sometimes I don't feel good enough to post and by the time I'm able to the thread's old enough that I feel kind of weird about bumping it just to post one or two sentences. So please don't take it personally! :)
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